Religions
Religions are groups that form from like-minded people, and can cover a wide range of political, religious, militant, and ideological organizations and movements. Individual groups would likely have requirements for membership, codes of conduct, secret sighs & gestures, and core philosophy that drives their movement. They may easily serve as a supporting group for the characters, or an outright antagonist. =Fan-Made Religions= The Mutant Future book list a basic outline of religion, but lists no specific groups. fans are free to list their own. The Naturalists This is comprised of loose bands of fanatical nature-enthusiasts. Their members live off the land as primitives, and reject anything that is not apart of it, like metal or plastic tools, permanent shelters, and even clothing. They see civilization as being destructive to the world. Members are mostly mutant plants and animals, but there are humans — pure, mutated and artificial — who have come to reject civilized trappings. Unfortunately, humanity is poorly built to live off of nature in a naked state, much less in a wilderness radically altered by radioactive fallout (or equivalent). Far from the idealistic "hippie tree-huger" image people would assume of them — at least most people who runaway to join them, tend to act this way. Those who live long in this movement are rugged and highly capable outdoorsmen; if survival and wilderness lore is not second nature to you, you will not live long. They have subtle ways to identify themselves to fellow members, which can vary from area to area, but it can be quite obvious to everyone, as they are made up of filthy, naked hermits. Pop-Cults This is not one type of group, but a broad category of cults that form around some pop-culture reference. This might be a "league" of costumed human mutants or tech-using (pure) humans, who fight crime within a city area. It might be a church of Elvis Impersonators, who sees "The King of Pop" as a messiah-figure, and makes pilgrimages to the long fabled kingdom of "Graceland". Even the concept of mutant animals worshiping an old cartoon mascot (see the picture above) falls under this category. The possibilities are endless, as Mutant Lords are free to come-up with with their own ideas, based on real life (or fictional) pop-culture references and phenomena. The Inducted (The Uploaded) This group is made up of humans and mutated humans attempting to gain viral and virtual immortality in the remnants of cyberspace. Before The Great Fall, Mankind stood afore a grand new age of technological superiority and expansion thanks to interconnected cyberspace. However, with the smashing of Man's physical Web infrastructure, much of cyberspace is fractured and without sufficient power to operate. In small pockets of humans, a yearning to transit from the confining, meaty, container of the body and escape into the Web still persists - literal ghosts wanting to fade into the shell. These humans seek to ally themselves in an auxiliary manner to The Created (Machineists) to fully translate from their weak, physical, fleshy containers to permanent machine sentience and code in cyberspace. ''- Brett Waste'' The Global Gun Association (The G.G.A.) Shortly before The Great Fall, various militia and armed, independent groups combined into a lobby /pressure group to protect and extend their private gun-ownership principles and interests in the face of collapsing sovereign integrity of national countries. This was opposed to the decay of the power of governmental militaries, and the rise of paramilitaries and private mercenary consortiums, like Clearwater Inc. and Sand Castle Corp. The G.A.A. seeks to insure full gun-ownership rights on a personal level for its members in places of recovered civilisation. This extends down to personal plastic 'throw-away Saturday Night Special' body pistols designed to be smuggled onto craft past security check points all the way up to legal licenses for single-gunner, vehicle-mounted plasma cannon. In places of no real civilisation, the G.A.A. attempts to foster relations with local weapons dealers and merchants trying to provoke trade in guns - and generating members for the gun-rights organisation. Generally the G.G.A. is open to any sentient being that can operate a gun - be that pure-strain, mutant, android or mutant vegetable ''- Brett Waste'' Clearwater Inc. (Multinational mercenary consortium) One of the several multinational corporations that survived somewhat intact during The Great Fall years where nations were destroyed, Clearwater Inc. relied upon the dispersement of its multinational forces to recover from the shocking disasters. With a standing division of 10,000 healthy men ranged over the ruined Pacific rim, it also sports 350 armoured ground vehicles (50% hovercraft) and 50 VTOL aircraft. It is also armed with 100 naval assets, half of which are hovercraft. Clearwater Inc. is based out of North Carolina on a large 7,000 acre ranch which is a huge training facility. The multinational mercenary corporation is a standing army in the midst of the decline of world powers and bullies small fractured nations and communities within its reach for resources and slaves. It has a large and well-stocked supply of goods that it has hoarded from before The Great Fall to feed their own troops with. Clearwater Inc. lower echelons are not very well educated and the ones who have followed in the times after The Great Fall often have a twisted, medieval view on their positions as mercenary men-at-arms in their role in the shattered society of today. Presently, Clearwater Inc. only accepts pure-strain humans due to intraspecies competition and aggression but there is surprising human racial toleration within the now well-blended former divided 20th century races drawn along economic division in the previous century. ''- Brett Waste'' Bohemian Grove (Californian secret society) As The Great Fall came upon the Earth, key members of the US west coast's elite San Francisco's Bohemian Grove were at the glade encampment and able to take cover in the series of deep underground military bunkers that had been secretly excavated there in the 1950s. Since not all members of the Club had made it to the Grove and most families had been trapped away outside due to the speed of collapse, the Grove's bunker could hold out in more sumptuous comfort than most other military bases designed similarly around the planet. A wide range of US west coast society was saved here underground in vast shelters with a large number of escorts and synthetics, and alcohol. They are guarded by some 500 US Marines with 25 armoured ground vehicles. The Grove above - including the encampment, the lake, and the large stone owl monument where the Cremation of Care ceremony takes place - mostly remain despite the catastrophes and because of the isolation. Only pure-strain humans may belong to the Bohemian Grove at this stage of long-term membership into old guard status ''- Brett Waste'' The Children of Tomorrow This strange group rose up in the post-apocalyptic years after The Great Fall and seemed to coalesce from a shattered collective Unconscious of the worldwide tragedy. These children, all under 12, form their own tribal societies (30-300) that are based on hierarchies of masculinity and age that pinnacle to a 'Green Man' cycle of the single male 12 year old leader being hunted and sacrificed by his own child-tribe yearly at the Winter Solstice. At this point a new leader is elected and feted for the remainder of the year. The Children of Tomorrow do not reproduce – they replenish their communities by kidnapping the very young from normal recovering adult settlements. They cannot use two handed weapons or heavy weapons and prefer a rustic existence without many technological aides. The Children of Tomorrow accept both pure strain humans and mutant humanoids into their ranks. Separate communities of the Children of Tomorrow co-operate with other Children of Tomorrow groups but are totally hostile to all adult groups, killing or fleeing them. They will only approach normally to steal these adults' offspring. Children of Tomorrow have (DEX x level)% skills in Hide in Shadow and Move Silently.'' ''- Brett Waste D.D.T. D.D.T. is the Department of Delicate Tendrils, a mutant vegetable secret service agency that has arisen since The Great Fall. Vegetable sentience has grown across the planet and it has only stood to reason that certain power groups within the intelligent fungal and plant kingdom have sought to extend their domains into the fleshy and wounded post-apocalyptic world. The D.D.T.'s spies are unprecedented in their ability to eavesdrop on conversations and keep in the background of events in naturalistic or comfortable indoor surroundings. The D.D.T. collates the information collected globally from its mutated vegetable agents and trades it to other remaining secret agencies to gain greater power. Members must be mutant vegetables or allied plants.'' - Brett Waste'' Synod of the Amanita Muscaria One of the most bizarre cults to have grown up since The Great Fall is the Synod of the Amanita Muscaria. This church is open to pure strain humans, mutant humanoids and mutant vegetables and their council high leaders of giant man-sized mushrooms dictate theological policy. Generally peaceful, they do not like most technological devices and retreat from urbanization into rustic areas. Pure strain humans occupy the lowest level in the Synod's religious hierarchy (tending, feeding, fertilizing and irrigating the 'thinking' fungal fields), then mutant humanoids and then, on top, mutant vegetables. Specialized 'brethren' are endowed with the physical spore mutation: Fragrance Development. Rather than have mutant vegetables travel vast distances, spore communication and lower hierarchy pure strain humans are relied upon to deliver messages between different churches of the Synod spread around the continents. ''- Brett Waste'' D.A.R.P.A. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military. DARPA has been responsible for funding the development of many technologies which have had a major effect on the world, including computer networking, as well as NLS, which was both the first hypertext system, and an important precursor to the contemporary ubiquitous graphical user interface. In the shattered and destroyed afterworld of The Great Fall, it continues in fully-guarded and fenced, isolated urban compound contexts with full cloning, replicant and cybernetic facilities. DARPA has a total force structure of a division of 15,000 men with 50% of them wearing some form of cybernetic attachment. They also sport 450 armoured hover vehicles, 75 VTOL craft and 150 hover naval craft. DARPA has a wide array of robotic equipment at its disposal, including 3 Death Machines. Its main base is at Arlington, Virginia although it has sites all over the US. DARPA really reached its stride in 2014 AD with the release of many battlefield robots (EATRs), cybernetic limb replacements for soldiers returning from Central Asia and the Middle East, drone use, and the release of the Panasonic-5000 Industrial Exoskeleton for a very cheap price at the end of that year. In the post-Fall years, DARPA has had no short supply of human misery with which to work its cybernetic ends upon. Since DARPA had wide-scale access to D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bunkers) excavated by Strategic Air Command in the 1950s, much of their infrastructure has remained intact and their command-and-control stays in order. DARPA accepts pure strains humans, clones and replicants only due to early experimentation on mutants by DARPA in their laboratories which angered Mutant groups. ''- Brett Waste'' Church of the Holy Translation Religious views shook as mightily as the earth in the days of The Great Fall. Many religions disappeared while even more people turned to others in the time of apparent and unending wrath seeking salvation and absolution. Many previous religious tenets became twisted and misunderstood in the rupture in time brought about by the chaos and a lack of societal values. The decay of language and education contributed to this greatly with areas like the UK falling to the equivalent of pre-Industrial medieval times. Some religious practices became highly warped and misapplied within only a few years in social mutations as alarming as the physical and mental mutations that where going on in the radioactive environment. One such theocratic warping was the Church of the Holy Translation that sought to find small pre-fabricated capsules in desolate ruins that equated with what they thought were religious “confessional booths” in Pre-Fall times. Seeking to gain absolution, they would mark out and seek to power-up such sites after repair to whatever apparent state these booths performed before the Great Fall. Unfortunately, most of the great religions had died of before the Great Fall (an attributing and abiding circumstance in Post-Fall liturgy) and these cubicles are in fact intended for a totally different purpose in Pre-Fall society – many of them fatal to the booth's occupant. Roll to check what sort of booth a local Church of the Holy Translation has repaired and powered-up as a local shrine (1d10): 1 = Suicide Booth (in the dystopic future, many citizens just could not cut it in fast-paced, Pre-Fall life. For a small fee, a citizen could simply opt to be disposed of at any time of the day by laying down in this oblong-like, opaque box; Save vs. Death or die quietly and be flash-cremated). 2 = Image Booth (this upright, coloured booth delivers a series of colour, laser-etched, holographic images on soft blanks to the user). 3 = Police Holding Unit (this grey, metal, narrow, one-person cubicle will snap shut and start pushing the victim around for thirty minutes, dousing them with irritant chemicals for an unpleasant experience. These boxes were used on street corners as interrogation holding bays for those arrested by the many totalitarian authoritarians that had mainly wrested control by the times of the Pre-Fall.) 4 = Tanning Bed (this delivers a nice, safe, golden tan after half and hour). 5 = Massage Bed (this delivers a vigorous automatic massage to the patient in 20 minutes). 6 = Trash Compactor (a concealed roof will crush down forcibly forming refuse and any occupant into a neat cube. Anyone inside will take 3d8 hp damage (no save). 7 = Clone bank (this will take a scan of a human laying in the oblong box and then clone and grow the blank clone in the empty chamber over a 7 week period. 8 = Rejuvenation Bath (this shiny, white, man-sized sarcophagus will cure any one single person of 1d8 hp damage once per 24 hours of operation that the occupant stays in there). 9 = Teleporter (will instantly teleport those who enter the cubicle to a random location 10d10 miles away in a random direction. The Mutant Lord should check on d00%: 01%-05% Land too low, killed underground and 95%-00% Land too high; fall 1d10 x 10' (1d6 hp damage per 10' fallen). 10 = Telephone Box (many of these did not exist towards the end of the Pre-Fall days and it will look quite alien to most examinations. However, ancient coinage can be broken into and gained from within the apparatus). Church members are bald and asexual-looking, male members are castrated and they are all berobed in white. All Church members must be pure strain human due to their doctrine of Form and Style equating to the universal design of their “confessional booths” which are all man-sized (essentially this equates to a liturgy based upon the purist human soul contained within these boxes found left in the remnants of Pre-Fallen society). They interpret any manifestation (including fatal wounds) inflicted by these electronic altars as 'divine providence' and 'just and manifest will'. Some novice members (not willing) will even be thrust into these various powered cubicles – sometimes to test them out for their “religious” effects. ''- Brett Waste'' The Church of the Fonz In the post-Apocalyptic sprawl after The Fall, several odd religious organisations have sprung up. One of these includes the Church of the Fonz which was already in semi-divinity by the late 2010s. Fan clubs coalesced on the net to conventions and hobbiests and reached its seeming-zenith with the accidental death of the actor playing 'the Fonz' whose full character-role name was local mechanic Arthur Fonzarelli in the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days. The actor was immediately cloned and went on to lead his own revivalist cult. Cult members dressed as socs ('socials'), bobbysoxer’s, rockers ('greasers' or 'bikers' -with Afro-Americans fulfilling the musical rock and roll subcultural component here), and co-eds (coeducational students). The highly pressured youth fill the ranks of the strict and dictatorial, mid-western fundamentalist religion. This is based on 1920s Fordist vehicle factory-line production combined with 1950s concrete highway production releasing subway tracts later threatened by primitive and unwieldy ballistic nuclear weapons. Fonz churchers prefer bipolar, stalemated, Cold War, Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.) body politics. The congregation will often ride BSA and Harley Davidsons to church and many prefer leather jackets. The daily prayer and greeting is “Heeeyyyaaa!” ''- Brett Waste'' Hookerites Many survivors hope to create a new order for the world. The Hookerites, followers of the mad Revered Hooker, love disorder. Revered Hooker believes that in order to prevent another apocalypse through the negligence or malicious intent of a society, there must be a series of "chaoses" that keep people on their toes. The Reverend sees himself as the ringleader of a circus, and he creates chaos by issuing arbitrary decrees that are carried out by his gleeful lieutenants. Hooker's laws are in constant flux. His followers' spouses are chosen through random selection, and people find themselves "shifted" to different locations and jobs at a moment's notice. A justice system does exist among Hookerites, but it's possible to avoid punishment if you hold a waiver. If you commit a crime but are able present a valid waiver to a magistrate, a bystander is forced to pay the penalty. This usually involves public humiliation or a temporary exile to the Purple Isle. Their symbol is a capitol H. Hookerites often wear the symbol on their lapels. =Cryptic Alliances of Gamma World= The first edition listed examples, but it suggested that referees should change what was listed, and even makeup their own groups. These are the groups listed throughout the various editions of Gamma World. Brotherhood of Thought This group was founded by a biochemist (known only as Ashinin) who survived the holocaust and was amazed to find that non-human mutations often had brains of a quality equal to or greater than humans. He gathered a small group of followers, and their goals were to unify all intelligent creatures in a world of enlightened coexistence and freedom of choice (noble old thoughts!). They have some ties with other cryptic alliances, such as the Seekers, and oppose the aims of both the Purists and the Friends of Entropy. The Brotherhood of Thought may be found in forests, mountains, and hills, usually in tiny villages. They maintain a very low profile, traveling in groups of three - one pure human, one humanoid, and one intelligent mutant animal or plant, to better spread the word of their cause. In dangerous or populated areas, they use a secret sign to contact each other. This sign is a tracing of the infinity symbol across the forehead as though casually brushing hair. Later on, they are noted for being pacifists, and very liberal with how they live. Seekers (New Dawn) The Seekers are a group of humans and mutants that all appear completely human. They travel and work in large populated areas, trying to get humans and mutants of all types to work together. They consider mutated animals to be inferior, but don't press the issue, and sometimes even accept their help. They are filled with an all-consuming hatred of the technology that brought about the destruction of civilization and seek to eradicate all traces of It from the face of the earth. They can be found among other human factions, or by themselves. The membership is usually very rich, in terms of the local means of exchange (they do not hate domars). Their secret sign consists of scanning the horizon using both hands to shade the eyes. They are generally portrayed as being Amish-like, but with baseball caps. In later editions, the became more open, even displaying their symbol - wheat stalk against an oval - on their buildings. They also became restricted to PCs, do to their inability to use technology. This was a major oversight, as such a limitation could make for an interesting character hook. Knights of Genetic Purity (Purists) “Purists” are Pure Humans who wish to destroy all mutated humans. Unaccountably (or fortunately), they do not realize that animal and vegetable mutants are not “pure” either. “Purists” usually fight with sword and lance, on any available mount. A large number of them also have ancient energy weapons. They are very open about their hatred and wear a bright red square, printed, painted, or emblazoned in some way on the fronts of their garments or armor. Large groups of “Purists” have been known to hire out as mercenaries - as long as the job involves the slaughter of humanoid mutants. In later editions they became an exclusively NPC organization. Due to their racial hated of humanoid mutants, they are "specifically designed to be the nemesis of the player characters." This was mostly do to the politics of TSR that reenforced the notion that players should avoid playing villains - that and they would kill any PC that happened to be a "mutie". Their symbol is an unbalanced scale on a red field. The Knights of Genetic Purity (also called "The Genites") were seen on TV show Andromeda. Friends of Entropy (Red Death) Calling themselves the “Red Death,” their goal is to bring about the extinction of all life and the cessation of all mechanical operations. They are especially interested in destroying all equipment of robotic nature. Theirs is a nomadic society (since nobody wants them around), and they travel in small groups, spying out populated areas to raid or attack. Whenever possible, they steal babies of both humans and mutants and bring them up as the next generation of the “Red Death”. Their secret signal consists of the cleaning of the blade of a dagger with a red cloth, followed by thrusting the dagger through that cloth. They are based on the "Thuggee cults" from India (also seen in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). In later editions, they became restricted to NPCs, due to the fact that they would kill the party in their sleep! The Iron Society This is a group of human mutants bent on the destruction of all non-mutated Pure Humans. Its groups are scattered about the world, especially near radiated areas. The Iron Society is very powerful in battle because its members use both mutated powers and ancient weapons of all sorts. They obviously will not mingle with humans, but can be found in societies of other mutants. They might be hateful of pure humans, or just see them as pathetic and inferior, but most are hateful. Their symbol is a hammer in a circle, usually minted on a coin. Zoopremisists This group consists of non-humanoid, thinking mutant animals, who believe that the time has come for the “beasts” to rule the world. They have a secret police of highly trained, dangerous mutants that terrorize any who oppose them. Fortunately, Zoopremisists attract only a lunatic fringe of the thinking mutant animals, and their power is not yet very great. They can be found secreted in any large mass of mutants. Their agents are all telepathic and signal each other in that manner. In later editions, right-wing Zoopremisists are militants, while left-wing Zoopremisists are outright terrorists! Healers (The White Hand) This is a quasi-monastic order, founded by a medical technician during the Shadow Years (the time leading up to the apocalypse). They wander continually, caring for the sick and wounded without regard for race, creed, or biological origins. The membership is both human and mutated and all have a mysterious ability to approach and befriend non-intelligent creatures. They use many medical devices of the Ancients, as well as any number of natural herbs and medicines. Healers are so respected by all (except the "Red Death"), that they are rarely attacked, even by the most bloodthirsty creatures. Their symbol is a white coat, the caduceus (☤), with outstretched hands. Traditionalists are pacifists, who go out of their way to render medical treatment, while Reformist Healers demand payment for their services - only doing occasional charity work. Restorationists These are a group of primarily human and humanoid mutants who have recovered large amounts of information about the past and are seeking to rebuild the lost civilization. Restorationists are usually armed with weapons from the past and frequently have robotic units working with them. They shun the other moderate cryptic alliances and work single-mindedly towards their goal. Their symbol is a rising sun over the ocean. The Followers of the Voice (Programmers) These are beings of all types who worship computers, believing that machines created the world and can again restore peace and order. They are always encountered near installations that have computers whose logic circuits agree, at least in part, with their philosophies. In some instances, the large computers, such as the think tank, have taken over their followers, and rule with dictatorial powers. Roving bands of the Followers of the Voice are occasionally encountered as they roam vast areas in search of computers and similar machinery to use as “shrines” for their strange religious rituals. Their "holy symbols" usually take many forms, as they are usually made up of different, unrelated sects. Star Trek is the best example of this type of cult, as the Enterprise encounter them quite often (Kirk was well known for taking down even the most powerful supercomputer with a "logic bomb" - it was any wander he could even order a cup of coffee, without crashing the ship's computer). The Ranks of the Fit (Bonapartists) This is a military-religious order, bent on controlling the world. Any means to this end is acceptable. It was founded by an enormous mutated bear, who wrote the organization's guidelines after reading certain history books, and possibly Mein Kampf, Animal Farm, and several biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte. All forms of life may join, but only mutated intelligent animals may hold positions of power. Seeking to establish a form of Code Napoleon throughout the world, The Ranks of the Fit have brought large groups of people and several cities under their well organized military fist. Although their armies are equipped mostly with crossbows and spears, no independent corps is allowed to operate without some very heavy weapons of the past, and the members will fight to obtain more. Their banner is the French Tricolor (blue, white and red) with a gammadion (swastika with shorter outer bars) superimposed. The Archivists (Servants of the Eye) This group is generally made up of various small humanoids who believe that all artifacts are sacred. These they store away in deep caves, where the artifacts are polished and worshiped. The members usually possess strong attack and defense mutations and will not appear in groups of less than 10. They will seek to buy items that they consider valuable, but are not above stealing if the price is too high. They especially like robots, which they deactivate and mount as statues of gods to protect their underground temples. Their symbol is an eye in a triangle (eye of providence), which they carry as jewelry, but out of view. The Radioactivists These are worshipers of a radiation god which they reverently call the “Radiant Divine Glory”. These cultists are those with high radiation resistance and many are mutated, as initiation requires that they spend a week in a radioactive area. Radioactivists are often seen traveling the desolate areas of the world, searching for new “holy lands”. Their symbol is the radiation hazard symbol. Traditionalists seek out holy sites (radioactive area), while extremists what to bath the world in radioactive fallout! The Created (Machineists) This is a special cult, open only to androids. Its members believe that only machine-created “life”, such as computers, cyborgs, robots, and androids are worthy of continued survival. Of course they believe that androids should be the ruling class, even in the world of machines. Androids often pass as humans in human and humanoid societies, subverting their efforts and stealing technological devices for the “Created.” They identify themselves with a clenched fist, raised shoulder high. Members usually assume that any machine or android is also a member, or at least agrees with their goals. Because Gamma World did not have playable androids and robots, they were off-limits to PCs. Peace Brigade This group splintered off the Restorationists. They actively seek remote, primitive communities, so they can build fortifications, train troops, and improve their standard of living. Even if the community cannot be persuaded to cooperate, the Peace Brigade will impose the urban development by force. Their core believe is that strong defense makes a community better, but they overlook that thick walls tend to isolate the community from the rest of the world. Their symbol is a crossed shovel and sword set on a blue field, which they post on the walls they establish.